Trim size is one of those terms we use frequently when talking about the dimensions of your printed book.
The term originates from the printing process, where the book’s pages are initially printed on large sheets, which are then folded, glued, and subsequently trimmed to a specific size. (This linked video shows the entire book printing process.) Go to your shelf, pull down a few titles, and measure the page dimensions to see a physical example of what is described below. (On a hardback, measure the pages, not the cover. The pages are the trim size.)
There aren’t any hard and fast rules about what size a book should be. It is determined by many factors, almost too numerous to explain. But there are some general guidelines and terms.
Below, I list the publisher jargon that describes a particular trim size followed by the dimensions of that book. The first number is the short-side measurement, the second number is the tall or long-side measurement. This is the measurement of the paper. A hardcover book has a cover that is slightly larger than the trim size of the paper itself.
Mass Market – 4.25″ x 7″
These books are the ones you might see in the grocery-store checkout line or in an airport store. Years ago, special racks and shelves were built specifically for this size. It suggested an inexpensive version of a book. Most often, this is used in the fiction category. Recently, this trim size has been slowly eliminated by most major publishers because large chains, like Walmart, rarely carry them.
Book contracts often have a separate royalty rate for this mass-market trim size since the retail price is lower and, in many cases, the book can be returned to the publisher by simply tearing the cover off and returning that stripped book cover. It is called “Strip Cover Returns.”
Trade Paperback – ranges from 5.5″ x 8.5″ to 6″ x 9″
This is the go-to trim size for most paperbacks in today’s market. Fiction tends toward the 5.5″ x 8.5″ size, but not always. This smaller size is also efficient because it is the dimension of a regular piece of paper folded in half.
The larger 6″ x 9″, for some publishers, is the default for textbooks or certain types of nonfiction.
There are times where the larger trim size is an advantage because there is more “real estate” for the content to fit. Thus, you can keep the content the same but use fewer pages to print, which costs less money. There is a minor difference in cost between the two sizes.
Manuals or Workbooks – 8.5″ x 11″
This is a common trim size because each page is like a regular sheet of paper. The only problem with this is in a brick-and-mortar store. Bookstore shelves are only 10 inches high. Thus, workbooks are either placed on their side on the shelf or stuck on the top corner, making them hard to find later.
A number of smart publishers realized this drawback and use a 7″ x 9″ trim size for workbooks. This size is also more convenient for the user.
Other Trim Sizes
I can hear you saying, “But I have books that are very different from any of these mentioned!” There are no rules per se. Gift books, children’s books, devotionals, etc., can take almost any form. For example, I have a Bible timeline book in my office that is 17.5″ x 14″ with foldout pages.
The only limitation is the publisher’s creativity!
Who Decides the Trim Size?
Early in the publishing process, the acquisitions editor talks to marketing and sales to discuss trim size, especially if something a little different than normal will be used.
During my time at Bethany House, I experimented with nonfiction books printed on 6″ x 8.5″ paper. We had been told that 6 x 9 would not work with the racks in grocery stores and airport spin racks. So we trimmed a half inch off the long side, and they fit! We were able to place several nonfiction titles in those racks because of that trim-size choice.
Your Turn
Share with us the trim size mix of books on one of the shelves in your library. Are they mostly 5.5″ x 8.5″ trade paperbacks? Or something else?
How does God set the trim size
for the books that hold our souls?
If we could see, would it surprise
us, what meaning that size holds?
What of children marked to die,
are the pages big and bright
so we’ll remember as we cry
when they take that angel’d flight?
And what of cads and what of kings,
and boors and holy men?
What size of page fits all the things
that God for them might pen?
And was it Abraham’s sharp holy knife
that trimmed pages of Lamb’s Book Of Life?
I love your poems. You can take any subject and find prose for it. Well done.
Sharon, thank you so much!
Beautiful, Andrew.
Thanks, Shirlee!
Very profound and thought provoking! Also the information on trim size was interesting and highly enlightening to say the least! Thank you!
This is interesting information. Thank you for sharing. My bookshelves hold a wide variety of books from 10 1/2″x 8″ to 6″x 4″. I organize them on the shelves according to their size.
Having written and published 13 books now, about to release my 14th, I have kept all my books the same at 6X9″, except for my cookbook, which is 8.5X11. This makes them look like they belong together. They also look nice on the public library shelf. I can’t remember who advised me to do this, but it works, and I’m grateful for the advice.
Thanks for the information in your article today. I didn’t know all the details for the sizes in books. You always have such interesting facts to teach us, Steve.
Thank you. Someone gave you good advice back in the beginning.
The Baptist Hymnal 1991 (Convention Press, Nashville, Tennessee.) The hardback cover is 9.25″ x 6.25. I selected this one as I believe that most hymnals are this size, and don’t match many other books. Am I correct?
Most likely the hymnal is 6×9 if measuring the paper, not the cover.
The cover on a hardback is always a bit larger than the paper.
I pulled out my tape measure, and 5″5 x 8.5″ is the most common for paperbacks on my shelf. I have a stack of pocket-sized booklets that come in at 4.5″ x 6.5″.
I never realized how much the trim size affects printing costs until I was creating personal print copies of books. Too small and you have more pages— too thin, and then you’re going to get weird books.
I think for my novella I went with 6 x 9? I could be wrong. But it hit the sweet spot and I only ended up paying a little over $3 per book, which might be more expensive, but it was crazy how much print size could add on a dollar or two XP as it was it ended up being a great deal and they’re very nice quality and size.
Correction: it was 5 x 8
This is really helpful, Steve. After I read it, I went and measured my two traditionally published books. Both are hardcover so slightly larger as you noted, but with a 5.5″ x 8.5″ trim size for the Christian living title, and 5×7 for the gift book. I host a monthly giveaway of books I recommend on my Substack account, and I appreciate the more traditional trim sizes as they fit into standard mailing envelopes. Thanks for the great content here —we’re always learning.
The smallest is Tennyson’s Idylls of the King (1892) at a trim size of 5 1/2″ x 3 3/4″. It’s gilt-edged and 3/4″ thick.
The largest is Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary (1962, 2nd ed., 1904) at a trim size of 10 3/4″ x 8″ and 5 inches thick. (It doesn’t contain words like bro or rizz, or allow the adjective impactful, but it has the words I need to read Tennyson.)
In viewing a book I have, which is “The Craft & Business of Writing: Essential Tools for Writing Success” I note first it is hard covered, but the cover is much larger than the pages, which are 5.5 X 9. That is a little different than your general email, but hardly a problem. The pages have tabs, which pushes the pages out to 6.3/4 X 9. I think the book is meant to appear stylish or artistic, having a lovely array of artwork on the hardcover. It is written by Robert Brewer, editor of Writer’s Market, published back in 2008, by Writer’s Digest Books. This was an interesting little task, thank you.